Auick-acting vise



[No Model.)

W. J. OBRIEN.

QUICK ACTING VISE. A No. 595,546. Patented Deo'. 14,1897.

,L l .l

-Nrrn STATES FFICF...

PATENT QUICK-ACTING vlsE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 595,546, dated December14, 1897.

Application filed September 25, 1897. Serial No. 652,949. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. OBRIEN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Holyoke, in the county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inQuick-Acting Vises, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in a bench-vise of thequick-acting class-that is, a vise in which the movable jaw is operatedto open or close by being slid, the movable jaw at such time beingdisengaged from the threads of the feed-screw, so that it may be quicklymoved either toward o r away from the fixed jaw to be brought toapproximately the distance from the said fixed jaw to receive the partor piece of work to be held, the Inovable jaw then being tightened witha hard bind against the object to be held by the tu rn ing of the screwin the proper direction.

The object of the invention is to produce a vise of the charactermentioned which is of great simplicity in construction, embodying veryfew parts, and which is eflicient, practicable, convenient, andsatisfactory'in operation.

The invention consists in the constructions and combinations of parts,all substantially as will hereinafter fully appear, and be set forth inthe claims.

The improved vise is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure l is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the under side'ofthe vise. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the line 33, Fig. 2. Fig. 4. is a substantially similarl cross-sectional view asFig. 3, but showing a differentl position of the'nut which engages thescrew, the latter being in such view shown as disengaged from the screw,whereby the screw and movable jaw may be moved either toward or from thefixed jaw; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of the under side of the nut with aportion thereof broken away and in section, showing the threads thereof.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspending parts in all of theviews.

In the drawings, A represents the fixed jaw of the vise, which is castor otherwise formed as one with the base B, which is arranged step-likein relation to said jaw, whereby it may be screwed or bolted to thebench C. (Indicated in Fig. l.) The base has the integrally-formeddepending ear-lugs a a c2 a2, having circular holes in alinement witheach other and forming slide-supports for the bars D D or runners onwhich the movable jaw E is engaged, said bars D D having their endsopposite the movable jaw united by the tiebar b. The feed-screw G isengaged at c with the movable jaw, so as t0 turn freely in relationthereto, but to have no axial movement relative thereto, the oppositeend of said -screw turning in a socket at e therefor in the centralportion of the said tie-bar b. The said feed-screw has the longitudinalsplinegroove d running substantially from end to end thereof, this beingratchet-like in crosssectional contour. (See Figs. 2,3, and 4.)

II represents the nut or threaded segment,

which is constructed and arranged relative to the spline-groovedfeedescrew to engage the screw and also to engage the ear-lugs of thebase B, so that when the screw is turned it will necessarily derive anaxial movement, and said nut is adapted under proper circumstances to bemoved transversely to the length of the screw and thereby to be out ofengagement with the latter. As shown, this nut comprises the invertedbase f, having the depending portion g, with an approximatelysemicircular depression therein which is provided with the screw-threadsh, so formed as to engage the threads of the feed-screw. The saidinverted base f has parallel with and somewhat removed from the threadedconcave face of the portion g of the nut the depending rib i, thelocation of which, as seen in Fig. 3, when the nut is in engagement withthe screw, is adjacent the side of the screw, the spring j, appliedbetween the base B and the nut, exerting by its reaction a pressure in adirection to force the nut,with its threads, out from engagement withthe threads of the screw, and, noting Fig. 3, so long as the screwisturned in the direction of the small arrow the nut will remain in thescrew-thread engagement, and the slow and forcible screw-exertedpressure of the movable jaw E toward the fixed jaw will result, thenutgbeing substantially immovable endwise, being in bearing atits endagainst the ear-lug abutments a a; but assuming that the screw G isturned by its handle m in the reversed direction to that indicated bythe arrow in Fig. .fl-that is, in the direction indicated by the arrowin Fig. 4- as the spline portion of the screw comes around toward theribr' the radial wall of the ratchet-like spline will come intoengagement with the said rib i of the nut and carry the nut in ahorizontal direction bodily away from its engagement with thescrew-threads, as indicated in Fig. 4, and as this crosswise movement ofthe nut is continued said rib t' will block the feed-screw from making acomplete rotation, as the rib is continuous, as shown, and ,has nopasses for the teeth of the screw-threads; but under the conditions nowestablished the feed-screw may be slid, and with it the movable jaw Fandthe guide-rods D, in either direct-ion, the spline-grooves of the screwsliding freely along over and withoutimpediment by the said rib of thenut.

Noting the position of the parts in Fig. 3, and assuming that the screwis turned in a direction the reverse of that indicated by the arrow, itwill be explained that the crosswise movement of the nut to the right,so that the nut assumes the position with the rib within thespline-groove as seen in Fig. 4, is caused by the weight of the nut andthe considerable frictional engagement or closeness of it which thethreads of the screw have with the threads or teeth of the nut, inpractice being assisted or rendered more certain by the spring, and,again,the spring may be dispensed with,for,as a matter of fact, with theparts in the position shown in Fig. 4 on turning the screw in thedirection the reverse of that indicated by the arrow in said ligure thetangential side of the spline-groove will act in the manner of the faceof a gear-tooth to force the nut sufficiently close to the side of thescrew so that the frictional rollin g engagement of the screwthreads ofthe screw will cause the threads of the nut to bot-tom into the screw.Vhile the spring is deemed desirable, its use is by no means essential.

In practice and as shown in the drawings the under side of the base I3has the slight depression n. therein, the width of which is ample toallow the crosswise movements of the nut, while the length thereof is atriiie greater than the length of the nut, so that the latter will notbecome bound as the vise is operated. The nut is shown also at one endwith the cheek o, the end of which is perpendicular to the surface,which slides on the base of the said depression n, so as to give a wideand stable bearing against the face of the ear-lugs a a to withstand thehard screw-pressure which is exerted between these parts as the screw isturned to close the jaw tightly against the object being held.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In a vise, the combination with the fixed jaw, of the movable jaw andguides and supports therefor, the feed-screw engaged and bodily movablewith the movable jaw and having a longitudinal groove, the threadedsegment or half-nut movable transversely relative to the screw, andhaving the rib i so arranged that as the nut moves from engagement withthe screw, the said rib will assume its position within said groove ofthe screw, substantially as described.

2. In a vise, the combination with the fixed jaw having base B providedwith an abutment member a, of the movable jaw and guides and supportstherefor, the feed-screw engaged to move bodily with the movable jaw andto rotate relative thereto and provided with the spline-groove d ofratchet form, the threaded segment or half-nut movable and adapted toengage and disengage the screw, and having its end against said abutmentmember, and provided with lthe rib ranging parallel with the screw, andadapted on the disengagement of the threads of the nut from the screw tohave said rib assume a position in said groove, preventing the turningof the screw in reverse of its jaw-closing direction, but permitting thesliding of the screw (and jaw) over said rib, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a vise, the combination with thc lixed jaw having the base Bformed with the depression n in its under side provided with theopposite sets of ear-lugs a a2, of the movable jaw and the guide-rods DD movable through holes therefor in said ear-lug, the feed-screw engagedto move bodily with the movable jaw, and to rotate relative thereto, andprovided with the spline-groove d of ratchet form, the threaded segmentor half-nut movable on the base of said depression n, and adapted tocngage and disengage the screw, and having its end against one of saidear-lugs a, and provided with the rib ranging parallel with the screw,and adapted, on the disengagement of the threads of the nut from thescrew to have said rib assume a position in said groove, substantiallyas and for the purposes set forth.

4. In a vise, the combination with the fixed jaw, of the movable jaw andguides and supports therefor, the feed-screw engaged and bodily movablewith the movable jaw and having a longitudinal groove, the threadedsegment or half-nut movable transversely relative to the screw, andhaving the rib t' so arranged that as the nut moves from engagement withthe screw, the said rib will assume its position within said groove ofthe screw, and a spring for forcing said nut in a direction away fromthe screw, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invent-ion I have signedmy name, in presence of two witnesses, this 21st day of September, 1897.

VILLIAM J. OBRIEN. lVitnesses:

WM. S. BELLows, M. A. CAMPBELL.

IOO

IIO

IZO

